Nutrition & Food Science

As a dietitian, you can help make a difference in the quality of a person’s life by advising others about healthy eating. You may participate in menu planning and overseeing the preparation of food, or educate senior citizens, pregnant women, or people with health conditions such as diabetes about which types of food to eat or avoid. You may also study nutrition for food companies and test new food products and equipment or conduct nutrition research.  

Dietitians study important information about the vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other nutrients food gives us. They understand how the food we eat affects the way we grow, and how to make healthy food that looks appetizing and tastes good. This gives them the expertise to help other people eat better by giving them advice or by making sure that the public places where they eat are safe and healthy.

Dietitians work in many different places, doing many different things. Below are some settings where dietitians work:

• Hospitals and other health care facilities, educating patients about nutrition and ordering medical nutrition therapy as part of the health-care team, or managing the food service operations. 
• Schools, day care centers, and correctional facilities, managing the food service operations and overseeing everything from food purchasing and preparation to managing staff.
• Sports nutrition and corporate wellness programs, educating clients about the connection between food, fitness, and health.
• Food and nutrition-related business and industries, working in communications, consumer affairs, public relations, marketing or product development, or consulting with chefs in restaurants and culinary schools.
• Community and public health settings, teaching, monitoring and advising the public and helping improve their quality of life through developing healthy eating habits.
• Universities and medical centers, teaching physician’s assistants, nurses, dietetics students, dentists, and others the sophisticated science of food and nutrition.
• Research areas in food and pharmaceutical companies, universities and hospitals, directing or conducting experiments to answer important nutrition questions and find alternative foods or nutrition recommendations for the public.

Education and Training

Dietitians need a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from a U.S. regionally accredited university or college and course work accredited or approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Along with a degree, supervised practice is also necessary. This could be offered through an accredited program at a health-care facility, community agency, or a foodservice corporation or combined with undergraduate or graduate studies. Typically, a practice program will run six to 12 months in length. You will also be required to pass a national examination administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). For more information regarding the examination, refer to CDR’s website. When you pass the test, you will be called a registered dietitian (RD), and continuing education is required to maintain registration. In addition, the CDR offers special board certification to RD/RDNs in such areas as gerontological nutrition, oncology nutrition, sports dietetics, and obesity and weight management.

Learn more about the Dietetics and Nutrition, Health, and Society concentrations at Louisiana State University.

As a food scientist, you can influence food choices and possibilities. You will work with your team to research and develop innovative recipes that may have a specific purpose, such as low in fat or low in sugar. You will need to make sure your products are safe, affordable, and tasty. 

Depending the area of specialization, food scientists develop ways to process, preserve, package, and/or store food according to industry and government requirements and regulations. This profession can be very rewarding. Imagine knowing you play an important role in bringing products from farm to fork!

Food scientists and technologists use a variety of methods to study the content of food. They use the information that they find to develop new food products or improve the value, production, packaging, and selection of existing food products. Aside from being involved in food production, a food scientist’s career may also involve regulatory responsibilities. They may evaluate methods used in food production facilities to make sure that food safety standards are met, and enforce regulations when necessary. Other activities may include discovering new sources of food, testing for contaminants or harmful additives, and more!

Learn more about food safety research at Louisiana State University, where they develop ways to reduce food safety risk on the farm. The group is also actively involved in conducting several extension and outreach programs targeting the food safety educational and training needs of growers, food processors, suppliers, vendors, regulatory personnel, and consumers in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region. Empowering all the stakeholders in the food chain to comply with Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations is one of the focus of our extension activities.

Education and Training

Agricultural and food scientists need at least a bachelor’s degree in food science, although many earn more advanced degrees and research specialization in a particular area, such as food chemistry, microbiology, toxicology, engineering, or nutrition. Some animal scientists earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM).

Learn more about the Food Science and Technology concentration at Louisiana State University.

Check out these videos from the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center about food science students seeking to make seafood safer (1:48) and examining preservation techniques (1:21).

As a food inspector you would be in charge of inspecting facilities and evaluating employee performance for compliance. Your job would involve identifying possible sources of contamination and evaluating practices that may put the public in danger. You would also provide education and solutions if you encounter an issue.

Food inspectors ensure the safety and freshness of food for public consumption and are responsible for enforcing health regulations in establishments that make and serve food. These include restaurants, retailers such as supermarkets, and manufacturing plants such as meat packing factories and dairy processing plants. Food inspectors must understand the legal terms of food safety and public welfare as well as the science of safe food handling. They must be able to confirm that proper storage, handling, and processing procedures are being followed for public consumption.

Food inspectors may progress to work as consumer safety inspectors or import inspectors. Consumer safety inspectors work in privately owned meat, poultry, and egg processing plants and ensure that plants are following safety sanitation guidelines. In addition, consumer safety inspectors conduct regulatory activities inside the plants to ensure consumer protection, such as misbranding. Import inspectors are stationed at ports and other points of entry to the U.S. to ensure that products imported from other countries are as safe as those produced domestically.

A food inspector has the potential to become employed through many associations and government organizations, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as state and county government agencies. The USDA reported that it employs over 6,500 food and consumer safety inspectors nationwide.

Education and Training

The position of food inspector can have different educational requirements depending upon whether you are applying for a local, state, or federal position. Some may only require a two-year associate’s degree in either animal sciences or biology, and others may require a bachelor’s degree in these fields, or related subjects such as microbiology or agricultural sciences. Other related degrees include environmental health, public health nutrition or science, and applied food and environmental science.

Along with a degree, experience in food handling is also necessary. This could be offered through job training or while you earn your degree. You may also be required to take a written test or certification through the National Environmental Health Association to demonstrate your knowledge of food handling protocols and legal specifications of food safety.

Learn more about the Food Science and Technology concentration at Louisiana State University.

To learn more, visit USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Institute of Food Technologists.